New WA hospital not a silver bullet, says former health boss<\/a><\/p>\nThe man tasked with reviewing WA’s hospitals says building a new one will not fix the health crisis.<\/p>\n
Future planning is limited by “outdated” estimates of demand and a lack of “master plans” for major hospitals like Royal Perth and the QEII campus, which includes Perth Children’s Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.<\/p>\n
Unlike New Zealand, Queensland and New South Wales, WA does not have a system-wide target for maintenance spending, according to the review.<\/p>\n
The government said work was underway to review that funding mechanism and separate out clinical and maintenance budgets.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, we’ve got to do better in the procurement and in the management, and that’s the main message from the review,” Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey said.<\/p>\n
“We’re endorsing, we’re accepting all the recommendations and I’m committed to delivering them.”<\/p>\n
The Director General of the Health Department, Shirley Bowen, said the review identified issues she had been aware of and had been working to address.<\/p>\n
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WA Health Director General Shirley Bowen says she has been working to address the problems.\u00a0 (ABC News: Courtney Withers)<\/p>\n
“This report \u2026 is less about money than it is about processes and procurement,” she said, acknowledging she “perhaps” could have done more to resolve issues sooner.<\/p>\n
Mr Carey said the government had been investing significant in maintenance with $260 million spent on maintenance last financial year, and a similar amount set aside for this financial year.<\/p>\n
He said that was on top of $4.9 billion the government has committed to building new hospitals or upgrading existing ones.<\/p>\n
System in crisis<\/p>\n
Shadow health minister Libby Mettam said the fact three-quarters of hospital maintenance was reactive showed the system was in “crisis”.<\/p>\n
“Western Australia is the richest state in the country and we deserve a better approach, an approach which shifts away from crisis management,” she said.<\/p>\n
Opposition leader Basil Zempilas said Premier Roger Cook, who was health minister between 2017 and 2021, needed to take some responsibility for the issues identified in the report.<\/p>\n
“The Cook Labor government, whoever has been the health minister, have had nine years at this,” he said.<\/p>\n
“And to walk out today with yet another report and say we’re going to do better, the time for that excuse has long expired.”<\/p>\n
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Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey says he remains committed to fixing the issues. (ABC News: Courtney Withers)<\/p>\n
The review also identified problems with processes for procuring and approving work, which was slowing down maintenance work, with cheap, low-risk projects facing the same scrutiny as major projects and outdated contracts.<\/p>\n
Workforce shortages, particularly in trades, have also compounded problems.<\/p>\n
Mr Carey said in some cases there had been an “over-correction” after corruption was found within the Department, which meant it was taking too long to get money out the door for minor work.<\/p>\n
He said of a $50 million fund to “supercharge” maintenance at three of the state’s oldest hospitals \u2014 Sir Charles Gairdner, Royal Perth and Armadale \u2014 announced at the same time as the review, about $20 million has been spent or contracted.<\/p>\n
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